Article 1: Right to Equality
K - 4th:
* Students could hold a penny drive to help fund developments of sister-schools across the Globe.1
* Put on an international concert displaying the uniqueness of each culture while emphasizing the equality each group deserves. Choose traditional music from other countries and cultures to play or sing at a concert. Give background explanations to the audience.
5th - 8th:
* Penny drive. (See K-4th)
* Research a country or specific culture. Each student represents a different part of the world. Help the students find people from their particular countries or cultures to interview. Have each student present his or her country/culture to the class.
* Set up a cross-cultural relationship with students from another state, community in Minnesota, or country. If resources are available, set up an e-mail/internet relationship with another class. Learn about the differences and compare similar needs, goals, and dreams of the other class.
9th - 12th:
* Volunteer with a team of high school students and travel to another state, country, or community in Minnesota to work with students. Build friendships and create understanding across cultural boundaries.
* Volunteer with an organization, which stresses equality among racial groups. Help out in various ways with the Association for the Advancement of Hmong Women in Minnesota, which promotes the right to equality for Hmong Women. 2
* Work to ensure that all persons with developmental disabilities have equal rights. Equality includes the opportunity to realize their goals of where and how they will live, learn, work, and play. 3
Article 2: Freedom from Discrimination
K - 4th:
* Experience different physical disabilities for the day. Learn how to live with "your" disability at school and the mall.
5th - 8th:
* Exchange letters with pen pals suffering from discrimination. Write to Bosnian refugees in camps who have been exiled from their homeland due to discriminatory practices based on nationality, ethnicity, and religion.
9th - 12th:
* Help expand your acceptance and understanding of people from different cultures and parts of the world. Promote a program enabling cultural exchanges for students. 4
* Help tutor English to a recent immigrant in an English as a Second Language Program.
Article 3: Right to Life, Liberty, and Personal Security
K - 4th:
* Help track down missing kids: Police across the country can find children more easily if they have fingerprints on file to help trace the children. Talk to your local police about setting up a table at the mall, at fairs, or at your school where fingerprints can be taken.
* Write letters to the President, urging him to help end fighting. Explain the reasons why you believe a current war is unjust, what human rights are being violated, and what you believe the President can do to help.
5th - 8th:
* Write to young shooting victims. One of the best ways to turn your back on crime and hatred is to connect with other young people. Send letters to young people who have gotten in trouble with gangs.
* Form a chapter of Middle School S.A.D.D. Middle school students can join Students Against Drunk Driving's program, "I'm Special Because I'm Me." This program deals with learning how illegal drugs can mess up your health and your life. Write to: P.O. box 800, 255 Main Street, 3rd Floor, Marlboro, MA 01752.
9th - 12th:
* Make a quilt depicting children's rights and donate it to a needy child. Focus on a child's right to a life consisting of freedom and personal safety.
* Put on an information fair for children home alone. There's a lot to learn about being safe at home alone. Contact your local police, fire department, and phone company to find out all the details about what to do in case of an emergency or you get scared.
Article 4: Freedom from Slavery and Involuntary Servitude
K - 4th:
* Draw a poster of what slavery means to you. Hang them around your school to educate others about the importance of ending slavery.
5th - 8th:
* Draw a poster or write a story, poem or song about the history of slavery in the U.S. Display your work in your school.
* Investigate companies that employ child labor and write a letter asking the company to stop using sweatshops.
9th - 12th:
* Visit a migrant workers camp or interview migrant workers.
* Research and give a presentation on forced child labor in sweatshops in the U.S. and other countries.
Article 5: Freedom from Torture and Degrading Treatment
K - 4th:
* Create a mural for a shelter for battered women.
5th - 8th:
* Create a mural with children at a homeless shelter.
* Tutor children at a homeless shelter.
* Become an Amnesty International Freedom Writer or member of the Children's Edition of Amnesty International Urgent Actions.5
* Create a workshop or presentation on the importance of ending violence in your community.
9th - 12th:
* Help mothers at a shelter for battered women. Take care of the children while single mothers study or apply for employment.
* Become an Amnesty International Freedom Writer.
Article 6: Right to Recognition as a Person before the Law
K - 4th:
* Learn about peace mediation and start a program in your classroom.
5th - 8th:
* Invite your team attorney or an attorney from a legal aid organization to speak to your class. Learn about the right to bring a case to court.
* Distribute flyers for a legal aid organization.
9th - 12th:
* Observe misdemeanor court. Discuss what you learn from the court proceedings with an attorney from the Public Defender's Office or a legal aid organization.
* Distribute flyers for a legal aid organization.
Article 7: Right to Equality before the Law
K - 4th:
* Learn about peace mediation and start a program in your classroom.
5th - 8th:
* Learn about the rights of children in court and what you can teach other students about their rights.
9th - 12th:
* Learn about Guardian Ad Litem programs in your area and volunteer opportunities.
Article 8: Right to Remedy by a Competent Tribunal
K - 4th:
* Ask a local judge to speak to your class about courts and his or her role as a judge.
5th - 8th:
* Start a youth court. Help resolve problems between students. Students argue their cases in front of a student jury and guidance counselor judge.
9th - 12th:
* Start an alternative dispute resolution process at your school.
Article 9: Freedom from Arbitrary Arrest and Exile
K - 4th:
* Interview a refugee or an asylee from a country where arbitrary arrest or exile is common.
* Become an Amnesty International Freedom Writer.
5th - 8th:
* Interview a refugee or asylee who was arbitrarily arrested or exiled by his or her country.
* Become an Amnesty International Freedom Writer.
9th - 12th:
* Research political prisoners in the U.S. Prepare a display about political prisoners for your school or community center.
* Become an Amnesty International Freedom Writer.
Article 10: Right to a Fair Public Hearing
K - 4th:
* Visit your local Minnesota Human Rights Commission.
5th - 8th:
* Visit your local Minnesota Human Rights Commission. Learn how complaints are filed. Interview a member of the Commission. Talk to your parent(s) or guardian about what you learned about the role of the Commission in Minnesota.
9th - 12th:
* Visit the Minnesota State Human Rights Department. Interview a member of the Department. Learn about the role and responsibilities of the Department. Talk to your parent(s) or guardian about what you learned about the role of the Commission in Minnesota.
Article 11: Right to be Considered Innocent until Proven Guilty
K - 4th:
* Draw what it means to be innocent and what it means to be guilty.
5th - 8th:
* Hold a mock trial. Invite your parent(s) or guardian to be a part of the jury.
9th - 12th:
* Hold a mock trial for younger students.
Article 12: Freedom from Interference with Privacy, Family, Home and Correspondence
K - 4th:
* Visit your local Post Office. Learn about the U.S. mail system.
5th - 8th:
* Learn about student rights and locker searches.
* Contact the American Civil Liberties Union or another civil rights organization. Ask a representative to speak about how the U.S. constitutional rights relate to international human rights and how individuals can file complaints.
9th - 12th:
* Request a Freedom of Information Act.
* Learn about your rights and responsibilities as a U.S. citizen. Teach younger students about their rights and responsibilities.
Article 13: Right to Free Movement in and out of Country
K - 4th:
* Interview family members to find out how your family came to the U.S.
5th - 8th:
* Interview refugees and asylees to find out from which countries they came, how they left their countries, and how they entered the U.S.
9th - 12th:
* Research the requirements that you, as a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident, need to meet in order to travel to Canada, Mexico, and other countries. Find out what you can take into other countries and bring back to the U.S.
Article 14: Right to Seek Political Asylum
K - 4th:
* Collect clothes, housewares, and toys for the Center for Victims of Torture or other refugee shelters.
5th - 8th:
* Visit the Center for Victims of Torture or another refugee shelter.
* Interview asylum applicants. Learn about their countries and their decision to seek political asylum in the U.S.
* Write to other young people in refugee camps around the world.
9th - 12th:
* Research and write an article about political asylum in the U.S., Canada, and countries in Western Europe.
* Prepare a poster display for United Nations Day.
* Write to asylum seekers in European camps or U.S. detention centers.
Article 15: Right to a Nationality and Freedom to Change It
K - 4th:
* Celebrate other cultures. Celebrate the cultures around the world. Learn about how indigenous peoples live in different countries. Learn a dance or celebration ceremony from another culture.
* Celebrate your family's culture(s). Learn about your family's cultural traditions. Share these traditions with your class.
5th - 8th:
* Attend a naturalization ceremony. Speak with the newly naturalized citizens. Ask them what it means to them to be a U.S. citizen.
9th - 12th:
* Create your own country. Learn about how people become citizens in the U.S. and other countries. Decide on rules for becoming a citizen in your new country. Carry out a naturalization ceremony. Ask your local cable access channel to show the video.
Article 16: Right to Marriage and Family
K - 4th:
* Visit a local homeless shelter.
* Draw a poster of different kinds of families that you know.
5th - 8th:
* Organize a neighborhood picnic.
* Start a block club for all types of families.
9th - 12th:
* Babysit the children of single parents for an afternoon.
* Deliver food baskets to elderly persons who do not have family nearby.
* Visit the residents of a local nursing home regularly.
Article 17: Right to Own Property
K - 4th:
* Exchange stuffed animals with a pen-pal.
5th - 8th:
* Hold a clothing and funds drive for survivors of a natural disaster.
* Visit a local food cooperative. Learn about the differences between a cooperative and a large grocery store.
9th - 12th:
* Volunteer with Habitat for Humanity.
* Hold a clothing and funds drive for survivors of a natural disaster.
Article 18: Freedom of Belief and Religion
K - 4th:
* Draw a picture about what your religion means to you.
5th - 8th:
* Visit a religious service different than your own. Discover how religions differ and how they are similar.
* Discover the different religions practiced in your area.
* Learn about religious freedom in the U.S. and around the world. Discuss why religious tolerance exists in some countries and not in other countries.
9th - 12th:
* Babysit or play with young children during religious services.
* Become an Amnesty International Freedom Writer.
Article 19: Freedom of Opinion and Information
K - 4th:
* Write an article for your community paper about human rights.
5th - 8th:
* Start a children's page at your local newspaper. What are your classmates' opinions of the news? Talk to the editor of your local newspaper about starting a page just for kids, with a student editorial board. Get to the heart of how children feel about world events.
9th - 12th:
* Write your U.S. Representatives and Senators about an issue important to you.
* Create a high school human rights page for your school on the World Wide Web.
* Write an article to send to the community and city papers and children's magazine.
* Research who can access the Internet and what can be put on the Internet.
Article 20: Right to Peaceful Assembly and Association
K - 4th:
* Create a poster or display about the environment or children's rights in your school's neighborhood. Participate in a local parade.
5th - 8th:
* Create a poster or display about a human rights issue or children's rights. Participate in a parade to educate the public about the human rights issue or children's rights.
9th - 12th:
* Attend a demonstration.
* Organize an environmental or children's rights rally in your school district.
Article 21: Right to Participate in Government and in Free Elections
K - 4th:
* Interview people after they have voted.
* Take survey of your parent(s) or guardian(s) and neighbors about their voting history.
* Develop a "Bill of Rights" for your classroom.
5th - 8th:
* Identify a national or local issue that you care about and/ or affects your neighborhood. Contact your government representatives. Ask them to support or oppose the issue, depending upon how you feel about it. Write letters to the editors of local newspapers and magazines, expressing why the issue is important to you, and what you feel should be done about it.
9th - 12th:
* Volunteer for a political campaign. Even though you are not old enough to vote, you can exercise your influence on who represents your interests in the government. You can become part of the political process by stuffing envelopes, distributing flyers, and learning about how the process works.
* Petition for a student position on the community council, school board, or any state or local agency. Many communities allow students to become school board members. Check with your local school board. If they don't allow student members, ask them to change their policy.
* Register people to vote. Contact your League of Women Voters or voter registration office and ask what you can do to help get people registered to vote. Get registration forms to register people on the spot, leave mail-in registration forms at homes, inform residents of registration times and places in their neighborhood, or hand out absentee ballots for seniors, people with disabilities, or people who will be out of town during the elections.
* Sponsor a debate between local candidates.
* Drive or walk with retired citizens to the polls.
* Volunteer to help at the election polls.
Article 22: Right to Social Security
K - 4th:
* Hold a food drive for a local food pantry.
5th - 8th:
* Hold a food and clothing drive for a homeless shelter.
* Volunteer at a soup kitchen.
* Volunteer at a community or school blood drive.
9th - 12th:
* Hold a food and clothing drive for a homeless shelter.
* Volunteer at Second Harvest Food Bank.6
* Volunteer at a soup kitchen or Meals on Wheels.7
* Research and analyze state welfare policy. Create your own welfare proposal and send it to your state representatives.
Article 23: Right to Desirable Work and to join Trade Unions
K - 4th:
* Make posters promoting jobs that involve peace and denounce violence. 8
5th - 8th:
* Create a brochure for Minnesota Jobs With Peace.
* Create your own trade union at school. Make origami or other crafts to sell at school. Learn how to function as a trade union. Donate the profits from your sales to a trade union or cooperative in the developing world.
9th - 12th:
* Help keep Minnesota Jobs With Peace running by assisting with administrative tasks.
* Research the International Labor Organization and its relationship with the United Nations. Write letters to support trade unions and trade unions leaders who have been persecuted for their activities. Contact Amnesty International for names of union leaders needing support.
Article 24: Right to Rest and Leisure
K - 4th:
* Remake a playground. Paint equipment and fundraise to turn a run-down, unused playground into a place where children can hang out. 9
* Draw a poster of the right to leisure.
5th - 8th:
* Remake a playground. Paint equipment and fundraise to turn a run-down, unused playground into a place where children can hang out.
* Write a story about the right to leisure.
9th - 12th:
* Throw a "senior" prom. Plan a blast at your local senior center or residence home. Help staff plan refreshments and entertainment. Find out what music the seniors enjoy, decorate the room, make tissue paper flowers for the guests to wear, and plan activities for the evening.
* Remake a playground. Paint equipment and fundraise to turn a run-down, unused playground into a place where children can hang out.
Article 25: Right to an Adequate Living Standard
K - 4th:
* Trick-or treat for food. Instead of chocolate or other sweets, ask for canned goods and grains. Deliver the goods to a shelter or food bank.
* Make drawings or decorations for shelters.
* Clean the beach or riverbed. State beaches and riverbeds need help bagging litter that collects throughout the year.
5th - 8th:
* Collect and distribute blankets, pillows, and clothing to the homeless.
* Plant a garden to feed the hungry. A small garden patch can provide cantaloupes, strawberries, broccoli, and spinach. Ask local garden stores to donate the supplies. Start weeding, planting, and picking to a more beautiful and less hungry community.
9th - 12th:
* Paint and rebuild neglected homes.
* Volunteer with Habitat for Humanity.10
* Sponsor a food drive. At a local supermarket, collect cartons of food for hungry people by asking shoppers to buy and donate items, such as canned foods, rice, pasta, baby foods, and other nonperishable items. Deliver the items to a local food pantry. 11
* Sponsor a hunger banquet. Raise awareness of the world's hunger problem the way a group called Oxfam America does. Invite guests to a hunger banquet in your school lunchroom or community center. The guests do not know what they will eat. When they arrive, divide the guests into three groups of different sizes. A small group of guests eats a typical American meal. A larger group receives the bare essentials, rice, and beans. The largest group-- more than half-- receives a meal lacking in essential food value. Picture the party guests as representing everyone in the world, and you will get an idea of how many people go hungry while a few eat all they want. In addition, you can sell tickets to the dinner and donate the proceeds to Oxfam. For more information, contact: Oxfam America, 26 West Street, Boston, MA 02111-1206.
* Work on group projects which ensure the continuation of the Neighborhood House.
Article 26: Right to Education
K - 4th:
* Learn about educational systems in other countries.
5th - 8th:
* Create a library. Most families on your block have books they do not want, but do not want to throw away. Consider starting a local library in a neighborhood community center where neighbors can share the books collected.
* Read books to younger children.
9th - 12th:
* Tutor academically-at-risk students. Help ensure that all students not only have a right to education, but that they choose to exercise this right by tutoring students who need extra help. 12
* Teach a human rights lesson to an elementary class. Create a simple human rights lesson and teach it to younger students, demonstrating their right to education, while helping them learn about the human rights of all people.
Article 27: Right to Participate in the Cultural Life of the Community
K - 4th:
* Read books about indigenous cultures or traditions from different areas of the world.
* Exchange cultural stories with indigenous children. Become penpals with indigenous children in other countries, such as the Atlantic Coast in Nicaragua.
5th - 8th:
* Create a play on human rights. Choose one or all the articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on which to base your play, both teaching the audience (parents and/ or other students) about human rights while demonstrating the Right to Participate in the Cultural Life of the Community.
9th - 12th:
* Write a letter to the governments to support publication the stories of indigenous peoples.
* Create a play on human rights. Choose one or all the articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on which to base your play, both teaching the audience (parents and/ or other students) about human rights while demonstrating the Right to Participate in the Cultural Life of the Community.
Article 28: Right to Social Order Assuring Human Rights
K - 4th:
* Create posters depicting the articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Display the posters in your school, at school events, and around your community, reminding people of their right to social order assuring these human rights.
5th - 8th:
* Create posters depicting the articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Display the posters in your school, at school events, and around your community, reminding people of their right to social order assuring these human rights.
9th - 12th:
* Conduct a mock non-violent protest. Choose an issue which is disturbing you, and enact a non- violent protest. Research successful non-violent protesters, such as Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr.
Article 29: Community Duties Essential to Free and Full Development
K - 4th:
* Draw a picture of what your responsibilities are as a student relating to one of the rights listed.
5th - 8th:
* Create a list of classroom responsibilities relating to each of the rights listed.
9th - 12th:
* Create a list of individual responsibilities within the school and local community relating to each of the rights listed. Publicize your list and discuss it with members of the community. Develop a plan to make your community a safer and better place to live.
Article 30: Freedom from State or Personal Interference in the above Rights
K - 4th:
* Learn what the local police and fire department do to protect you and your family. Take a field trip to your local police or fire station.
5th - 8th:
* Learn what the local police and fire department do to protect you and your family. Ask officers from the police and fire departments to speak to your class about their responsibilities.
9th - 12th:
* Find out what the police forces in your community are authorized to do. Ask an attorney from the American Civil Liberties Union or legal aid organization to speak to your class about your constitutional rights and freedom from state and personal interference. Learn how to respond if the police stop you on the street.
